Alyssa complained in a private message that the meeting organized to deal with the crisis was a disaster.
When Lin Xi was urged by Taran and had to bite the bullet and step into that hellhole, he found that Elisa's words were not credible at all - the girl was essentially about to become a saint, and she really over-beautified the place where she had stayed before.
After several hours of verbal abuse and arguments without any progress, all the senior members seemed exhausted. The air purification system had been turned to the maximum level, and the old air component sounded like it was about to explode. The smell of human sweat, cigarette smoke, and alcohol mixed together, and the air was very turbid, but what really made people breathless was not the bad air, but the tension, anger, fear and anxiety floating in the air.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Xi's arrival did not even attract anyone's attention.
"… This is the place, everyone can see it! There is no need to compare it with the damn star map. Everyone knows that the orbit of AS192 is completely unstable, and its movement is completely irregular. Comparing the star map is meaningless! Ladies and gentlemen, open your eyes and look at the things outside the spacecraft! Those disgusting things are exactly the same as those in the original exploration log! Only that damn AS192 would have such a thing. We have to find a way, otherwise we will all die here-"
When the door, which no longer sparkled due to its age, slowly opened, the first thing Lin Mao heard was a high-pitched scream, the voice was rapid and hoarse.
Lin Xi looked towards the person who was speaking. It was John Bronson. At this moment, he was waving his arms, dancing, spitting and yelling at other people.
He is the second oldest crew member on the ship and it is said that this voyage will be his last before retirement.
From this point of view, it is somewhat understandable why he was so excited.
Anyone would be devastated if this happened to them during their last job before retirement.
But, AS192? John said that the planet they were forced to land on was the planet AS192
Lin Xi blinked.
He almost subconsciously felt that John might have lost his mind - after all, AS192's extremely legendary and mysterious history was too famous.
It was once the dreamland of all people on earth and the spark that opened the era of great exploration.
It is said that it is almost the Earth's twin brother in the vast universe. Its density, atmosphere, gravity, and even its orbit and rotation are almost exactly the same as the Earth. It is a vibrant planet, like a second home created by God specifically for mankind.
And, the best part is, it's right next to an ancient jump point.
It was so perfect and wonderful, and perhaps for this reason, it was ultimately proved to be just an illusory dream.
Three hundred years ago, the Providence, which was carrying 250,000 people, slowly flew to the planet AS192, and the strangely disappeared jump point, shattered this fantasy with unprecedented cruelty and pain. After the 250,000 people and the most expensive spaceship in human history entered the universe, there was no news of them anymore. The once most powerful country on Earth also completely fell apart because of the huge planetary immigration plan, and the aftermath and wars continued for decades.
Almost all history books have a common conclusion, that is, mankind’s failure on planet AS192 officially ended the once-hot era of exploration.
Of course, three hundred years is enough time to heal all wounds, and the pain brought by AS192 eventually evolved into the breathtaking mysterious background and fantasy story location in horror movies and various strange dark novels.
At least, that's the case for Lin Xi. It is too far away from reality.
"... John, this is ridiculous. After the warp failed, we made an emergency landing on a planet that cannot be found on the star map, and this planet happens to be AS192? This possibility is really too small."
Another crew member spoke up.
What he said was almost what Lin Xi was thinking, but after entering the cabin, Lin Xi had been observing these tired and anxious crew members, and he did not miss their expressions.
Likewise, he would not admit his mistakes - the crew members did not seem to be so determined when refuting John's words.
"But the data sent back by the exploration robots we sent out these days," someone stuttered and spoke weakly soon after. "I mean, those values... after comparison, they are indeed completely consistent with the data of AS192 recorded in the records."
Everyone's eyes turned to that person.
Cold sweat broke out on the young crew member's forehead.
“Of course, there are still some details that don’t match the numbers…”
He added quietly.
Are you mistaken...
Lin Xi whispered in disbelief in his heart.
John might have started talking nonsense because his retirement life was ruined, but the data clerk who added to the conversation later was very reliable - Lin Xi never liked those complete nerds, but he had to admit that no lies could be squeezed out of those people's dull minds.
…
"I still think it's a little ridiculous and unlikely but who knows if it's a coincidence?"
"Who knows if there was something wrong with your robots? I heard that they were almost broken during the emergency landing..."
"Even if the data is similar, it doesn't mean that this is the planet. It has disappeared for so long, and the jump point is—"
In the midst of a renewed argument, someone accidentally mentioned the jump point.
Then, without any warning, everyone fell silent.
They looked at each other with somewhat unnatural expressions.
Oh, yes, of course, this is unscientific, but the thought almost naturally popped into the minds of everyone present.
Jump point.
The Apollo was forced to land on this planet because of an inexplicable jump failure. What if it was pulled here by a previously recorded jump point during a normal jump process? Considering that the jump point that swallowed the Providence had disappeared for unknown reasons, its reappearance did not seem impossible.
"There is a layer of 'ghost dust' floating in the low-Earth orbit of AS192. It absorbs all outgoing communication waves and interferes with the spacecraft's detection system. The initial exploration team was equipped with a customized communication system to avoid losing contact with the Earth...
Someone said faintly in a very uncertain voice.
"Hey, wait, we have no proof this is the damn AS192. We don't need to be worrying about this shitty ghost dust right now, do we?"
"It's just a possibility..."
Small disturbances spread throughout the shabby cabin like dust stirred up by a vibration in a dry attic.
"Shut the fuck up—"
In the end, it was Taran's brutal roar that ended everything.
According to Lin Xi's understanding of this control freak, he should have been furious and fiercely suppressed such groundless speculation, but to Lin Xi's surprise, Taran did not really refute that statement.
"Whether this is some unknown strange planet or that damn AS192, it doesn't make any difference. What we should really do is find a way to repair the spacecraft and return to Earth with the cargo, instead of wasting my time here."
Taran said in his unique strange tone, and then he turned his eyes to a bearded man in the cabin whose temperament was completely different from the others. On the surface, the bearded man was just an ordinary crew member on the Sun God like everyone else.
However, Lin Xi knew that the guy was actually a professional mercenary sent by the government to guard the Apollo.
"Sorian, I told you four hours ago that I need 'humans' to go outside and take a thorough look for me, collect all the information that your instruments, your eyes, and your brains can get, and then give me a fucking professional report! Where is the team I need now? Where are the things they sent back? God, look at these people, they are just like a group of frightened chickens."
Taran questioned sternly.
Sorian's expression was a little ugly.
"Yes, I have arranged the personnel, but there is a small problem with the off-board activities..."
"question?"
Taran narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Sorian stood up straight, and Lin Xi noticed that the man looked at John Bronson intentionally or unintentionally.
"It's just some strange rumors, boss. One or two of the guys are still very young. This is their first time on a spacecraft and they encountered such a thing, so they are a little easily influenced."
The man's thick beard obscured his expression, but the look he gave John was far from friendly.
"Your men have been mumbling something outside my team's cabin, and I didn't think you'd want to know the details."
He shrugged and whispered, with the slickness of a professional mercenary.
Without further ado, Taran realized something immediately.
"Bronson?"
He looked at the excited old man.
"what did you say?"
Taran asked grimly, his eyes terrifying.
At this moment, Lin Xi was actually a little glad that the person he was staring at was not himself.
"the truth."
John Bronson also flinched under such a look, but he still muttered under his breath.
Taran's facial muscles twitched.
Lin Xi saw that he was exerting force on his hands placed on the table, and it was obvious that Taran's anger was gradually rising.
"What truth, what do you know?" The coldness in Taran's tone became even stronger, "... You are just a cook, what can you know?" In the last sentence, Taran did not hide his contempt at all.
Yes, John Bronson, the most senior chef, was responsible for feeding the crew members who were not in cryogenic hibernation so that they would not go crazy due to the bad-tasting canned food during the two-year flight.
However, no one expected that just that rhetorical question would inexplicably touch John's nerves.
"The truth—damn it—I'm telling the truth—"
John Bronson suddenly stood up and shouted back at Taran.
"You thought you hid it well, but I know everything, Taran Ida, you damn alien bastard, you are as crazy as those bugs, you want to sacrifice us, right! You already knew that this is AS192, the cursed land, the devil's nest, you want to sacrifice us to the devil, you want to kill us all, so you brought us here-"
The old man's voice was close to a roar at the end. His face turned red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot.
He looked completely insane, or rather, mentally ill.
Although everyone could tell that the words he roared were just the product of his imagination in extreme fear or frustration, coupled with his extremely terrified and frantic expression, those roars actually revealed an indescribable sense of foreboding.
But Taran looked unmoved.
He stared at John with disgust, his lips curled in disdain.
“Alyssa, find a way to deal with this guy.”
He didn’t even say a word to John but turned to look at Alyssa.
Alyssa’s face was stiff (even desperate), but she quickly found a way to get the out-of-control Old John out of the meeting room first.
Of course, considering John's overly excited emotions, that "method" was not very friendly.
"… This place will kill us, and the demons will kill us, just like they killed those 250,000 people. If we don't find a way, we'll die! We'll die!"
Even after he was forcibly dragged out by the armed robots, Old John's desperate cries still echoed in the depths of the corridor for a long time.